This Inwood native reunites with his Vietnam war buddies

Vietnam War veteran William Taylor,  an Inwood native who now lives in Oceanside, has received some “long overdue recognition” for service to his country.

Honor Flight Long Island, a veterans’ of war organization, will host a reunion of 37 vets from the Vietnam War, two from World War II and five from the Korean War on Saturday at the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale.

The reunion will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the museum’s Hangar 3, at 1230 New Highway. The public is encouraged to attend the veterans’ “Ceremony of Honors,” during which each veteran will be presented with a personalized tribute journal full of photographs taken during their trip to Washington, D.C. 

On April 29, Honor Flight escorted 37 veterans of the U.S. armed forces to D.C. to visit the military memorials in the nation’s capital. Among them was Taylor, 73, who has lived in Oceanside for the past 39 years.

“It was something that I’ll never forget,” Taylor said of the trip. “It was very important to me because it gives me closure to the whole war itself. It was just great being there.”

The veterans and their guardians visited memorials from WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War, and they also visited Arlington National Cemetery for a “Changing of the Guard” ceremony, as well as the Air Force and Iwo Jima memorials. 

“This special flight included 37 Vietnam veterans who received long overdue recognition and thanks for their military service,” said Bill Jones, Honor Flight president. “What this flight represented was a ‘big hug’ to all our veterans from Honor Flight, their families and supporters who make such flights possible.”

Born in Inwood, Taylor joined the military in 1969 at the age of 20 after his second semester at Nassau Community College. He recalled serving in Pleiku, near the Cambodian border, for four months, during which his compound was bombarded with artillery shells for a week straight.

“We were constantly on alert,” he said. “We were in the bunkers, in the middle of the night, stressed out, then had to go back to sleep. It was a very, very stressful time.”

Taylor spent a little over a year in Vietnam, and his biggest takeaway was the relationships he formed during the war.

“I met a lot of friends there, and there was a real closeness, because everybody depended on each other,” he said. “It was such a beautiful country — you would think you were in Hawaii. But we were in this beautiful country, and it was like a horror show.”

After his service in Vietnam, Taylor returned to the plumbing supply business, where he worked while in college. At 30 years old, in 1972, Taylor met his wife, Elizabeth, and they have been married for 42 years. They have two sons, Timothy, 39, who lives in Oceanside, and Bryan, 36, a Florida resident. Taylor also has three young granddaughters.

For years after the war, Taylor said he had trouble sleeping and his wife suggested that he seek assistance from veterans’ organizations. He ended up going to the Babylon Vet Center, which offers confidential help to veterans, service members and their families. Taylor, who has attended the center for 16 years, said the results have been beneficial.

“I had a lot of anxiety,” he said. “I was very angry a lot of times at work, and the therapist really helped.”

The social aspect has been just as beneficial for Taylor, who meets with fellow vets every Wednesday at the center.

The D.C. trip was special for Taylor because he said he was able to go with his group of fellow veteran friends, Tom Galub, Greg DiMaria and Dominick Montivano, all of whom he met at the Babylon Vet Center.

“We see a therapist, and she helps us with everyday problems and anything going on in our head that we’re having trouble with, but after a while, it gets to be more of a social thing,” Taylor said. “I see them every week, sometimes we go out to dinner, and we talk to each other during the week. It was just great to be with them and experience the whole trip with them.”

Since retiring from the plumbing supply business six years ago, Taylor spends his time on the beaches, with his hobby of metal detecting.

“I spend almost every morning metal detecting on the beaches on Long Island,” he said. “When you add up all the jewelry and the change, I usually find, I mean, almost $3,000 a year.”

Taylor recalled the time he spent with his assigned guardian during the Honor Flight who he still keeps in contact with. Taylor said he is looking forward to the reunion and meeting with the friends that he shared a special weekend with. 

“I felt like I knew her all my life, it was great spending the day with her” Taylor said of his guardian. “The whole experience was one of the top five experiences of my life.”